Bihar CM Nitish Kumar orders removal of Section 144 amid coronavirus scare
PATNA: Taking serious note of the enforcement of prohibitory section 144 of CrPC in many districts which has forced people to restrict their movements due to outbreak of coronavirus, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday directed chief secretary Deepak Kumar to ensure immediate withdrawal of the order.
Kumar strongly asked officials not to create unecessary hype on the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state by resorting to enforcement like the section 144. He said that imposition of section 144 of CrPC would inculcate a sense of fear and panic among the people in masses.
The JDU chief also said that such step is taken when the situation gets worst on law and order front. "It is not needed in Bihar where no positive case of COVID-19 has been diagnose ," he said stressing upon the need of creating mass awareness in public instead of making them feel panicked over it.
In fact, 10 districts of Bihar including Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheohar, Samastipur, Banka, Nawada, Katihar and others had promulgated the section 144 in view of COVID-19 outbreak. He also gave a dressing down to an MLA who was distributing masks outside the assembly among the politicians and the media persons.
He ordered to stop such activities which create unnecessarily fear. He said that masks should be used only by those who are tested positive with coronavirus or have developed cold and cough symptoms. He also detailed that one mask should not be used for more than 6 to 8 hours and after its use, it should be burnt or dumped deep inside the earth.